beautifulthailand99

If he had died what would have happened would Vance become the deafult candidate ? We are in uncharted territory here.

Imagine the headlines had this been a Russian supporter attemnpting to assasinate Kamala. There isn't a font big enough to do that justice,

https://archive.is/Bza9M Suspected Gunman Said He Was Willing to Fight and Die in Ukraine Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, told The New York Times in 2023 that he had traveled to Ukraine and wanted to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight there. In a telephone interview with The New York Times in 2023, when Mr. Routh was in Washington, he spoke with a self-assuredness of a seasoned diplomat who thought his plans to support Ukraine’s war effort were sure to succeed. But he appeared to have little patience for anyone who got in his way. When an American foreign fighter seemed to talk down to him in a Facebook message he shared with The New York Times, Mr. Routh said, “he needs to be shot.” In the interview, Mr. Routh said he was in Washington to meet with the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, known as the Helsinki Commission “for two hours” to help push for more support for Ukraine. The commission is led by members of Congress and staffed by congressional aides. It is influential on matters of democracy and security and has been vocal in supporting Ukraine.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-suspect-shooting-assassination-attempt-west-palm-beach-1954191 Routh appears to have previously spoken with The New York Times about his effort to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to fight in Ukraine. At the time of the report, which was published on March 25, 2023, Routh told the Times that he had spent several months in Ukraine in 2022. A Semafor report published on March 10, 2023, cited Routh as the head of the International Volunteer Center (IVC) in Ukraine, a private organization that works to "empower volunteers" and other non-profit groups that work to "enhance the distribution of humanitarian aid throughout Ukraine," according to the IVC's website. https://www.semafor.com/article/03/08/2023/ukraine-is-turning-down-hundreds-of-afghan-soldiers-who-want-to-join-its-war-effort

It appears he was very pro-Ukrainian. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13854475/Donald-Trump-assassination-attempt-golf-Gunman-arrested-hiding.html 'I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE... Can I be the example We must win,' Routh said in an X post in March 2022. Routh was interviewed in April 2022 in Kyiv, where he was taking part in a demonstration in support of Ukrainians trapped in the port city of Mariupol. 'Putin is a terrorist, and he needs to be ended, so we need everybody from around the world to stop what they are doing and come here now,' he told AFP at the time.

It's a given now they will have a nuke and a delivery mechanism to send it to an enemy (most probably Israel) who could use it in extreme circumstances. It's one of the fallouts of the Russian-Ukraine War and pushing Russia , Iran , China and DPRK into ever closer alliance. It was Israel's worst nightmare.

As Biden deliberates, Ukraine’s nuclear plants are increasingly at risk - The risk of Ukraine losing the war this winter has pushed Washington and London to reconsider how Kyiv uses Western-supplied long-range missiles, but the U.S. remains fearful of escalation. - Politico https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-ukraine-nuclear-plants-energy-war-joe-biden-united-states-nato/ Currently, 55 percent of Ukraine’s energy is generated by its three operating nuclear power stations — the one in Zaporizhzhia, which is the largest nuclear plant in Europe, was captured by Russia in 2022 and has largely been shut down. Russian missile and drone strikes have destroyed 9 gigawatts of the country’s electrical generating capacity — that’s half of the peak winter consumption — with 80 percent of thermal generation from coal- and gas-fired power plants and a third of hydroelectric production capacity wiped out by bombing.

Ukraine's spy chief says North Korean military aid to Russia presents major battlefield problem. This is whar some of the most autocrtatic sanctioned countries in the world do - they have created their own parallel universes virtually impervious to sanctions and Russia's desperate logistics have given new impetus to Iran and DPRK.The former now is almost certian to get it first nuke now. https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraines-spy-chief-says-n-korean-military-aid-russia-presents-major-battlefield-2024-09-14/ The head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR, Kyrylo Budanov, said North Korean military aid to Russia presented the biggest concern compared to support provided by Moscow's other allies. "They supply huge amounts of artillery ammunition, which is critical for Russia," he said, pointing to the ramp up in the battlefield hostilities following such deliveries. Ukraine and the United States, among other countries and independent analysts, say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is helping Russia in the war against Ukraine by supplying missiles and ammunition in return for economic and other military assistance from Moscow.

Good morning good to be back. Zelenskiy not holding back about the state of the the Ukrainian inventory. Western aid not enough to equip 'even 4 out of 14' underarmed brigades needed on the front, Zelensky says - The Kyiv Indpendent https://kyivindependent.com/western-aid-cant-equip-4-out-of-14-brigades-needed-on-the-front-zelensky-said/ "We moved (to use) what we had in storages, and whatever the reserve brigades had – (those brigades that) we need now (to fight)," he added. Zelensky also defended the Ukrainian military command's decision to launch the Kursk incursion into Russia in August to divert Russian troops there, rather than keep Ukrainian forces in the eastern Pokrovsk direction, where Russian army was making relatively rapid territorial gains over the past weeks. Zelensky said that it didn't matter how many brigades were defending the east, if "half of them is not equipped." Specifically, he said they were lacking armored vehicles and artillery shells, as Russian forces fired 12 times more rounds than Ukrainian troo

The most memorable thing my wife said to me early on in our relationship when it was more transactional on my part than emotional - was "open your heart". At the time I didn't know what that meant. I was a lost soul way back when thank god she found me and didn't let go. She literally saved my life. My biggest legacy that I hope to leave is her to be looked after and cared for when I'm gone and selfishly I hope I go first, I couldn't stand the pain of losing her - she is my best friend bar none. Still doesn't mean I have

"the first time as tragedy, then as farce"

https://archive.is/ZTGCk One problem, according to western officials, is that Russia began moving its aviation assets deeper inside Russia about three months ago, beyond the 250km range of Storm Shadows and the up to 300km range of Atacms. The extra distance that Russian bomber pilots must now fly has put “extra grit into the Russian system,” said one western official. But the move has also reduced the effectiveness of western weaponry as there are fewer aviation targets within their reach. Another problem is that inventories of Storm Shadows and Scalps are low, so even with permission for cross-border strikes Kyiv would not be able to deploy them in volume against multiple Russian targets. “The missiles are no strategic panacea for Ukraine’s strategic military situation,” said another western official.

Nowhere but if you must Jomtien.

I'm all in 21 years married no children and I've never loved my wife more. Sickening isn't it. It's the biggest choice of your life if you seek happiness - my first one was my worst choice and I've airbrushed her out of my past.

Western media starting to say the quiet parts out loud - Zelenskiy's being set up as the fall guy. Ouch. https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-ukraine-europe-russia-war-media/ Zelenskyy’s critics note that other wartime leaders took a markedly different approach. Notably, Britain’s Winston Churchill depended on a team of powerful ministers drawn from across the political spectrum to form a war cabinet that balanced interests and could command loyalty across the population. His critics have long worried that Ukraine would start paying a price for what some dub a post-Soviet mentality of command and control, arguing that much of the country’s steadfast resilience can be explained by the nimble and innovative nature of its people and a tenacious civil society, all of whom have stepped in to bolster the state when found incapable — and something this consolidation of power runs against and weakens.

Just enough not to lose never enought to win - NATO policy has at least been consistent throughout this senseless war. That and the fact you can't magic weapons out of thin air. West crushes Ukraine’s hopes of loosening Russian strike ban However, top diplomats from the U.S. and the U.K. did bring large aid packages and pledged continued support. https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-russia-antony-blinken-kyiv-war-united-states-defense/

Even David Axe thought it was a foolhardy diversion - one hopes that problemfarang gets out of this alive but it looks like an effective pushback from the Russian has come.A very sobering read which chimes with whar pf has been saying such as Starlink and GPS doen't work so units are flying blind on foreign territory againts formidable defences remininscent of the Surovikin line. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/13/world/ukraine-kursk-offensive-cost/index.html Ukraine’s Kursk offensive was seen as a major success, but it came at a huge cost All 14 said the Kursk counteroffensive was a difficult operation with casualty rates on par with other parts of the frontlines. They said it was getting tougher, five weeks in, and some even questioned the decision to launch the incursion at a time when Ukraine was struggling to defend key towns and cities in the east of the country. “It will get more and more difficult. There will be more artillery fire, more soldiers, and there will be very big and difficult battles, but we must do everything we can that improves our position – Ukraine wants peace, but peace when we win, not when we lose,” Vasyl said. “Russia is sending a lot of troops and artillery (to Kursk). We have a lot of guys who have been killed and we have a lot of destroyed hardware,” he added.

Agreed - and there are plenty of assymetric levers to pull now in this highly connected world that don't need nukes. Cut internet cables ,destroy satellites, hack critical infrastructure , give proxies anti-ship missiles and training (Houthis) and punch David Lammy in the face. At the moment the Russian's plan seems to totally destroy it's power grid which is back to the stone age bombing that the US was so happy to trumpet in times past.

Don't make my life any more diffcult you are a Putin fanboy - where I seem him as ruthless kleoptocrat ruling with an iron fist on top of a gangster state - but at that he is a master. And he keeps the lights on and food in the bellies of the average Russian and a misplaced pride in Mother Russia where the steppes are swimming in the blood of millions shed over the centuries.It's is Macbethian in tragedy " I am in blood. Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er". Don't poke the bear is as good a rule as any. But we have, there is no turning back from that truth will out in the end.

I really would like to have a go at this but it's OT and I have been warned. In short Russia is maxed out just fighting Ukraine and I agree it does very little for the country bar destroy it's poor youth.But one thing about's Putin's power is that it is holding with an iron grip and his tenacity at not losing whilst NATO quite rightly eschews reclkess escalation and won't have boots on the ground means in an attritional war Russia wins and Ukriane gets destroyed. NATO/US gets rearnament, expansion and US disenegagment so it can concentrate on the ASIA/Pacific theatre. It's no coincidecne that Victoria Nuland is rarely seen without a smirk on her face whilst Zelenskiy looks increasingly harassed. He is a rose between 2 much bigger thorns. There is a guns/butter curve btw ! https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gunsandbutter.asp

I did no misqouting which I think you seem to infer I just echoed the headline more not most and then did a bit of digging about this controversial fellow that the WSJ decided to focus on. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Biletskiy said it wasn’t his place to weigh in on what an appropriate peace settlement would be, which he called a political question. But he said he decided to speak publicly—something he has rarely done since the start of the invasion in February 2022—in response to the shifting national mood, which he said was hurting the motivation of troops at the front. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Biletsky#Political_views During his speech at a 2009 general meeting of the party he said: "How then can we describe our enemy? The general regime in power are oligarchs. Is there anything they have in common? Yes, one thing in common – they are Jews, or their true bosses – Jews – are behind them. Out of one hundred published richest people in Ukraine 92 are Jews, and some others of Tatar origin"

Wall Street Journal is now quoting Andriy "my lifes mission is to lead the white race against the jews" Biletskiy like its nothing. Bodes well for the future of Ukraine. Literally the first sentence on his Wikipedia political views section not even some deep kept secret.How much Zelensky is really in charge is an open question too. Based on this article, and taken at face value - I am more convinced than ever that he's a dead man if he even casually mentions negotiations. He would be strung up and the military would take over. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Biletsky#Political_views

More Ukrainians Want to Negotiate an End to the War. Soldiers Don’t Agree. The debate highlights a tension in Ukrainian society between those who are in combat and those who aren’t - WSJ https://archive.is/avmk7#selection-2217.0-2221.105 Fifteen percent of soldiers and veterans said they would join an armed protest if Kyiv signed a peace treaty that they didn’t agree with. Though polls show that the general public also remains skeptical of deals with Putin, many—especially younger people—are ready to accept an imperfect peace to stop the war. Alla Pronina, a 33-year-old schoolteacher in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, said she began to reconsider the possibility of negotiations after last year’s counteroffensive. Now, with her husband away fighting, she is willing to give up all the territory Russia currently occupies in exchange for peace. “Where can we go with this war?” she said. Yes Alla a very good question indeed. And therein lies the post war problem - post cessation of hostilities however that happens there will be battled hardened death or glory uber-nationalists who will refuse to give up and if necessary will fight the the central government - a return of strong man war lordism. Something that no EU or NATO country has or indeed wants.

Ukraine Has Run Out Of Modern Vehicles For The New Brigades It’s Forming - The new 154th Mechanized Brigade mostly has vehicles from the 1960s. David Axe FWIW I think David Axe writes a lot of tosh by the yard so he may well be wrong on this take as well. Him and Colonel Hamish who are having a good war. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/09/10/ukraine-has-run-out-of-modern-vehicles-for-the-new-brigades-its-forming/ The Russian army was rightly mocked for dragging ancient T-62s out of long-term storage to replace some of the thousands of tanks it has lost in Ukraine; it’s no less embarrassing for the Ukrainian army to ride back into battle in the geriatric T-62s. It doesn’t help that foreign donations of armored vehicles have slowed considerably since peaking in the lead-up to Ukraine’s summer 2023 counteroffensive. That slowdown is a major reason that new brigades are forming without a lot of modern vehicles, according to Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s top officer.

Thanks Brian but I suggest you take it up with the publications I qoute from or put me on ignore. Those points have been oft made over the course of this war - indeed I did qoute from one of your posts from a year ago but got it taken down for baiting.